David Cameron has given his backing to the £15million museum and library which
is planned as a permanent memorial to Margaret Thatcher.

The Prime Minister said the ambitious project, to be modelled on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in California, would “ensure [Lady Thatcher’s] legacy lives on”.

His public backing is likely to boost support significantly from other ministers and leading figures for the Margaret Thatcher Library, to be based in or close to Westminster, and which will run training courses and exchange programmes with overseas students.

It will also house artefacts from her time in power - 1979 to 1990 - likely to include a selection of her suits and handbags.

Mr Cameron said: “During her life Margaret Thatcher believed in action - and this memorial will produce real results for generations to come.

“I am delighted that young people will be able to come to the Thatcher Centre and learn about her achievements, and ensure her legacy lives on.”

As fundraising got seriously under way, the project, first revealed by The Sunday Telegraph last week, also received support from leading conservative figures from overseas - including John Howard, the former Australian prime minister, Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives in the US, Fred Ryan, President Reagan’s chief of staff and Karl Rove, who performed the same role for President George W Bush.

Mr Rove said: “Baroness Thatcher championed freedom around the world and was a strong friend of America in the dangerous days of the Cold War. The Margaret Thatcher Centre will be a timeless tribute to her fighting spirit, unwavering courage, and principled conservative leadership.”

Meanwhile, an opinion poll today shows Conservative activists are more likely to characterise Mr Cameron as the “heir to [Tony] Blair” than the “heir to Thatcher.”

In the survey by the ConservativeHome website, 34 per cent of party members said the Prime Minister was the heir to Mr Blair, with only 11 per cent allying him with Lady Thatcher. Most, however, (55 per cent) said he was following his own individual path.